Defamed Nigerian entrepreneur Obinwanne Okeke has been jailed for 10 years by a US federal court for masterminding an $11 million cyber fraud.
The court heard that "through subterfuge and impersonation, Obinwanne Okeke, engaged in a multi-year global business email and computer hacking scheme that caused a staggering $11 million in losses to his victims," Raj Parekh, Acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a statement Tuesday after the sentencing.
British company Unatrac Holding Limited -- the export sales office for industrial machinery company Caterpillar -- were the victims of an online heist perpetrated by Okeke and his team, who had obtained their login details through phishing emails, the justice department said.
"The conspirators sent fraudulent wire transfer requests and attached fake invoices. Okeke participated in the effort to victimize Unatrac through fraudulent wire transfers totaling nearly $11 million, which was transferred overseas," the statement added.
He flaunted private jets and luxury cars on Instagram. Feds used his posts to link him to alleged cyber crimes
Okeke, who was hailed as a promising entrepreneur and appeared on the Forbes magazine '30 under 30 list,' had earlier pleaded guilty to the charge in June 2020, after he was arrested during a visit to the US.
"The conspirators obtained and compiled the credentials of hundreds of victims, including victims in the Eastern District of Virginia," the US justice department said.
"The FBI will not allow cyber criminals free reign in the digital world to prey on U.S. companies," Brian Dugan, the FBI's Special Agent in Charge of Norfolk Field Office said after the sentencing.
Okeke was arrested by the FBI at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, in August 2019, just before he got on a flight to Nigeria during a visit to the US.
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